Halloween Hangover

Let's face it - you come here to read funny stories and see pictures. When I am running low on time, the funny stories can wait, but I want to post Halloween pictures before 2012!

Here are the photos from our annual trip to the pumpkin patch and Halloween night (these are a bit grainy because it was already getting dark!). Oh, and just in case you want to see how big the boys have gotten, here are links to the last 4 Halloweens for your viewing pleasure (and this is why I keep the blog!) - if you have suggestions for next year's costumes, leave a comment. I am thinking of doing something Ghostbuster related. Perhaps a ghost and a Ghostbuster? I am so lucky that the boys play along with my Halloween coordination!

2007
2008
2009
2010

About to go Trick or Treating!

Look, Mommy is playing super hero too. Not pictured: My boots!

Captain America striking a pose and breaking hearts!

Even Spiderman needs a time out to go for a horse and buggy ride!

They are best friends now - I only hope they are such good friends when they are grown ups!

Where did Andrew and Tyler go? I only see Captain America and Spiderman! (the black spider on Tyler's costume blinks red at night -- very cool!)

Mommy's Superheroes!

Seriously, Spidey - your smile melts my heart!

It's Official - I'm a "Soccer Mom"!

We spend our weekends running between Andrew's flag football games and soccer games -- not to mention Tyler's soccer games and whatever other fun weekend activities are on the calendar. Sometimes I feel like I spend less time at home on the weekends than I do during the week - and many weeks I am traveling out of town for work!

Tyler has really taken to soccer and has gotten several goals in every game we have played so far. He is pretty aggressive and loves to steal the ball and score, as long as you don't ask him to play for more than 5 minutes at a time(each period is 5 minutes), because he quickly wears himself out and starts to whine / cry. We have institued a new rule - there is no crying in soccer!

By First grade, sports are already getting serious. Yes, seriously. Andrew is starting to appreciate the competitive nature of sports and is really starting to find his way.

In fact, Andrew got the offensive game ball this weekend at this flag football game for great blocking - way to go, Andrew! Tyler was very proud of his big brother!

Hello? Anyone there?

We have a lot of catching up to do. I am not going to lie, it has been a very busy year and this blog has fallen to the bottom of my to do list. To give you an idea, I just uploaded about 1500 photos, some dating back to April!

So, while I am busy sorting photos - which will also help me remember the many stories I have not shared on this blog, I will start with the present and will work my way back over time.

This blog is my digital scrapbook for my boys, so I need to update it for them if not for you all, our friends and family, who are curious as to what is happening at the Moore house.

So, here is a quick recap of the recent happenings in the Moore house ...

*The boys went back to school, Andrew is now in 1st Grade and Tyler is in Pre-K (this makes me want to cry, they are growing up so fast!)

*Andrew and Tyler both played summer baseball, this was Tyler's first experience with coach pitch baseball and he did great and even got on base several times (he was the youngest on the team by far!)

*Andrew and Tyler are both playing soccer this Fall and Andrew is playing flag football again as well. Andrew will also be in Cub Scouts and Indian Guides ... oh, and the boys are also going to start Tae Kwon Doe ... it is going to be a busy Fall!

*Andrew turned 7 at the end of July ... yes, seven!!

More to come ...

Happy 40th Birthday, Douglas!

We love you immensely, Douglas and hope that you have an amazing birthday!

The decade that started with your 30s was pretty incredible -- newlyweds, my college graduation, moving back to Houston and buying our home, new jobs, Andrew's birth, your college graduation, getting your passport stamped, Tyler's birth and celebrating 10 years of marriage, just to name a few.

I hope that this next decade brings you everything you hope and dream about - you deserve it!

Happy birthday, to the youngest 40 year old I know!

All my love,

Annie

Andrew's New Look

It turns out that Andrew has a pretty strong astigmatism that was effecting his vision, both near and far. I noticed he would squint a bit when we were reading at night and the school nurse confirmed via their standard screenings that we should take him to have his vision checked.

Can you believe how much older these make him look?

He is actually very excited about wearing glasses, I wonder how long that will take to wear off? :)

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

It is that time of year ...

We made our annual trek to the Christmas Tree Farm to chop down our tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving and we splurged on new outside lights and decorations, which the boys helped assemble and install. They were both very excited to decorate the house and the Christmas tree and it put everyone in the Christmas spirit.

The school Christmas Program was a hit and both boys did great in the performances. The performances were followed by their classroom Christmas parties and the last day of school for the year on December 17. There is nothing quite like being at an elementary school that is closing for the Christmas break -- the excitement in the air was palpable!

Yes, Andrew is wearing a PJ top - it was part of his performance!

That same excitement is building at our house and the boys are literally counting down the days until Christmas. Fiddle Sticks, our Elf on the Shelf, has been visiting us daily since Thanksgiving, keeping an eye on the boys and reporting back to Santa every night. The boys race downstairs every morning to see where Fiddle Sticks is hding in plain sight for the day. You can almost see the wheels turning in Andrew's head as he tries to figure out how Fiddle Sticks travels back and forth every night to see Santa and where his magic comes from. For now, he seems to content to believe in the magic, and we hope that continues, as celebrating Christmas with two little boys who believe in the magic of Christmas is well, magical!


No Christmas season would be complete without our annual visit to see Santa Claus at Santa's Wonder Land. We also were planning to drive through their massive light display again this year, but they changed the set up, so now, during "peak times" you have to take a hayride to see the lights. Hayrides are fun when the temps are nice, but are not so fun when it is cold and you aren't dressed for extended time outside (lesson learned from a previous visit), so we skipped the lights this year, but the boys did not seem to even notice (they were too busy running around like mad men).

Santa's Wonderand was busy but the line for Santa was short - granted we got there past 9 pm! The boys were very excited for their visit with Santa and he did not dissapoint. They were in awe of seeing the jolly old elf and shly told Santa what they wanted for Christmas afer taking what may be their best Santa photo yet.

Tyler asked for a glow stick (a last minute minute request that we are not sure where he came up with) and Andrew asked for a DS game. Santa seemed surprised that was all that they asked for, but Mommy had dutifully explained that the boys could each ask for one or two toys, Santa is a busy guy after all. Andrew questioned the number, remembering that Santa always brings them more than one thing, but I told him that Santa likes to bring surprises too.

After their quick conversation, Santa told the boys that they have very good this year and surprised them with a book, It's Christmas David, that they asked for months ago (side note, the David book are all wonderful, especially for little boys who always hear "No!"). In the book, Santa wrote a letter that reads:

Andrew & Tyler,

Fiddle Sticks told me that you have been good little boys this year. I am so proud of you both!

Remember to be kind to each other, listen to your mommy and daddy and help others - Santa's #1 rules.

I know that you both love to read, so enjoy this book about David as you count down the days until Christmas.

Santa Claus, 2010

p.s. I loved the cookies and milk last year and Rudolph enjoyed the carrots - thank you!

The boys were pretty taken aback by the gift and left Santa's workshop still in awe of what had just happened and even more excited about Christmas.

Here is our annual photo and click here to see photos of our past Santa visits. You will notice that we have been visiting the same Santa for 6 years now! Can you believe how big my boys are???

Du the Teddy Bear

Andrew competed in his first race in October and I could not be more proud!

We live near Bear Creek Park and there is an annual duathlon in October called "Du the Bear". I have never raced it because it has yet to align with my race schedule, but the bike shop I frequent is the head lining sponsor and I just happened to see an advertisement for a kids race called "Du the Teddy Bear".

The kids race was supposed to be a half mile run, 2 mile bike ride, and half mile run, but they ended up splitting the race into kids over 8 (they did the original distance) and kids 7 and under, who did a shorter version.

Here are the photos that will do a far better job of telling the story of the race ...

Waiting for the race to start - deer in the head lights anyone? :)

Having fun on Run Part I

Still running
T1 - preping for his ride

On the bike leg ... he actually had a minor crash at the turn around, but he got right back on his bike.
These 3 are my favorites - look at him, finishing strong!
The grin is on his way out ...

Receiving his medal

Andrew with his buddy Jack and his favorite little brother
Showing off his medal

Andrew with his gear

Brothers

Proud Mama

Proud Daddy

Happy "Out of This World" Halloween!